The government's controversial decision to observe five-day working week across the country as a part of its radical plan to fight off power outages through larger energy conservation strategy has understandably generated concern, particularly among business and industry circles, which have argued that it will cause further economic slowdown.
For example, the Acting President of FPCCI has called upon the government to exempt sea, air and dry ports from mandatory two-day off, because it would not only delay handling of import/export consignments; it would also increase the cost of trading due to levy of demurrage, container retainer rent, etc. He has argued that a two-day off would also generate difficulties in meeting the pre-scheduled timings for sailing ships for the delivery and dispatch of goods.
These services have to remain in uninterrupted operation, seven days a week to cope with the workload. Any hiatus, however brief, even of a few hours, can lead to a pileup that would be almost impossible to clear even in weeks. Further, if implemented in its present conceptual framework, the two-day off decision can bring about further slowdown in economic growth, which has already been pegged down at three percent - one of the lowest growth levels in our history. As banking and economy are closely linked, a total two-day shutdown will certainly have a deleterious impact across the economic spectrum, which needs to be avoided at all costs.
State Bank of Pakistan Deputy Governor Operations Yaseen Anwar has indicated that banks have an option to keep some selected branches open on Saturdays, if they so desire, to meet the needs of their trading clientele. This must sound like music to the ears as private businesses are unhappy at the two-day closure, amid growing fears that the two-day off decision would be more harmful than beneficial for the national economy.
There are both advantages and disadvantages of two-day off. Weekly working hours vary from country to country - ranging from 35 to 45 working hours - depending on the stage of economic development enjoyed by a country. In most Middle Eastern countries Friday is observed as a closed holiday, with Sunday being the day off across Europe and elsewhere in the world. And, Pakistan after a disastrous experience of switching to Friday in 1977, opted to go back to Sunday in 1991.
Secondly, some apologists of the move have advanced the argument that the use of ATMs can in a way serve as a substitute for normal banking services, which is clearly a fallacious position as banking transactions are not confined to withdrawal of cash alone, although ATMs do facilitate availability of ready cash to customers at an individual level.
Thirdly, the multi-billion oil trade between Middle Eastern countries, which observe Friday as weekly holiday, and the rest of the world where Sunday is the holiday, is carried out through inter-currency transactions. It has been argued that trading in oil, with its multi-billion turnover is conducted round the week, which serves as the fulcrum of the world economy. Yet another argument against a two-day off at banks is that the amount of energy saved will anyway be consumed on Mondays, implying thereby that in the ultimate analysis, the net benefit of the initiative will not amount to much.
It is true bank jobs offer some of the most attractive salary packages, along with perks that hardly carry a parallel in other jobs, but the true spirit of banking lies in quality of service provided to the customers. Critics may argue that this has tended to instill in some upper-level bankers a bureaucratic mindset that does not accord with the spirit of their profession.
The Pakistan Banks Association should ensure presence of sufficient staff on weekly holidays to handle transactions so that no backlog is accumulated. It should not be difficult for the multi-billion banking sector to hire additional staff to ensure provision of quality service round the week. The SBP has more than a week to work out a proper mechanism that does not hurt the economy at a time of existing crises.